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Hi and welcome to our instructional video that is designed to make you a smarter gambler. My name is Steve Bourie and on the author of the American casino guide, number one bestselling book in the US on the subject of casino gambling and travel and the only book that comes with over one thousand dollars in casino coupons. If you want to know more about our book, be sure to visit our website at Americancasinoguide.com and if you have a smartphone or tablet be sure to download our free app just go to the App Store or the Google Play, Store and search for American casino guide. In this video American casino guide associate editor Matt Bourie learns how to count cards at the blackjack apprenticeship training course in Las Vegas.

Matt is a novice player who attended the course to learn about card counting from former professional blackjack players and to see if they wanted to pursue it further Matt explains what the course was like and his thoughts on what he learnt. Following that, there is an interview with American casino guide: author, Steve Bourie and Colin Jones, who is a cofounder at the blackjack apprenticeship training course hi. I’M Matt Bourie associate editor of the American casino guide and in January 2015 I had the chance to attend the Blackjack apprenticeship training course in Las Vegas. This is a course designed by Ben Crawford and Colin Jones to former professional blackjack players from 2006 to 2009 ran a card counting team that won millions of dollars. The team was very unique because it consisted primarily of members at their church in a documentary was made about their exploits.

The movie was called Holy Rollers, the true story of card counting christians and it’s currently available on Netflix, as well as DVD after several years.

The success they decided to disband the team but they’re both still active in the training of new players and teaching them how to become better at the game of blackjack with their website blackjack apprenticeship, dot com several times a year. They all sold the workshop for players to help them hone their card counting skills to gain an advantage over the casino. I was invited to take the beginner’s course and I was eager to attend because I was familiar with the concept of counting cards, but I don’t really know the details of how you put in the use in a casino plus.

I know several professional card counters and I always wondered what their jobs and tailed. So what follows is a video showing a bit of what I learned at the blackjack apprenticeship training program and my thoughts about the course following. That is an interview that my dad Steve maury did with Colin Jones about the course and his goals for the students to start off.

They handed out booklets that included notes of what would be discussed during the class, as well as basic strategy, charts and also index numbers. Occasionally, when account gets very high or very low, you need to deviate from basic strategy and the index numbers tell you when and if you need to do this. After that, we had to introduce ourselves, we had to say our name where we’re from and why we are taking the course. A lot of the people taking a course said that they didn’t like their current jobs and wanted to quit then and count cards for a living. I’Ve always heard that this is a very unrealistic goal and that thought was more or less echoed by Ben in college. After we introduced ourselves, Ben and Colin told us their story, they told us how they started with just the two of them in a few thousand dollars and ended up with a team of over 20 people winning millions of dollars in the casinos.

The next thing we did was go over the agenda for the day, which was very full the course lasted a full eight hours. They then went on to explain EV, which is also known as expected value, and that is how card counters determine how much money they should be making throughout the day. Another thing they discussed was that there’s two types: blackjack players, those that play for fun and those that play to make money and we have to decide which of those we are gon na, be they said that professional players got their fun out of making money, whereas Most people in a casino just play for fun. Another thing we went over was they gave us are a few tips on how to practice at home. Before we went into the casino to bed any real money, then they went over.

What I thought was the most important thing every day that you should never gamble with money that you cannot afford to lose financially or mentally. The next part of the course was the first dealing session is when we all sat down on an actual blackjack table and they dealt out. Cards gave us chips and we tested out what we knew. The first then call went over this dealing session was how to calculate the running count in the true count, and this is a process that that we will do it every single hand, and we want you guys to leave knowing this process, which is running divisor. True, after everything, ok and I’m gon na say running and you’ll say what the running count is.

I selected a running count as sex and divisor. That means having Dexter left of 85. So what future count if you’re, a music supervisors, 5 %, want next he explained. I we should change our bets based on the true count. So if you have a true one, he should bat two chips get richer to shabad.

What three tips truth read that poor chips: 34. So true for you that a I’ve chips and then sure if I’ve been above in bed, 6 chips, so this would be your the highest you need about. You need to keep going up forget about the trip 5 K, so whatever that you can issue get out one more unit than the trick out. This isn’t really what you might use while playing in a casino.

This will be a good way to find out how your trigger you know what you think the true counties before I took this course. One thing I didn’t know is when you should actually start counting cards. I always thought that you should start as soon as the dealer deals the first card, but what they explain to me was it’s much easier said.

Wait until the dealer has given everyone their first card and once he deals the first person their second card. That is when you should start counting after that was explained to me. It made it so much easier to be able to keep track of what the running count was, and the divisor and getting the true can’t. The part that I found the most difficult actually was estimating how many decks were in the discard ray. I think I was wrong pretty much every time they told us to guess all day after the first dealing session calling went over a few ways to maximize your EV are expected value when playing blackjack summer. Those things included the bedspread, meaning how loader make your bed when the count is low or how high you should make your bed when the Count II, nothing he went over, was the initial house edge of the game.

What are some things that affect the casinos edge penetration? Good? What else the rules he asked?

The Standard Heating saw seventeen. Yet if you can tell us where we split all those things number DAX, the most important thing they went over to maximize your EV is penetration or how far back to dealer puts the cut card. It’S better to go further back, because the further back to cut card is the more you know about. The remaining cards in the deck most interesting part of the day was only got a visit from tommy hyland, one of the most successful blackjack players of all time. Tommy’S been running card counting team, since the early eighties and they’ve won millions of dollars. Unfortunately he did not want is videotaping him, so we don’t have any footage.

Is that, but he did answer any questions that anyone had, and I told us some very interesting stories. For instance, he had been kicked out of the casinos in atlantic city so many times that he went during Christmas, dressed as Santa Claus to try and count cards to disguise himself, but he ended up getting kicked out anyways after that they went over a few more Things such as how to build a blackjack team and how to camouflage yourself while you’re in a casino, but we had to leave a little early. So again, we didn’t get to see that a lot of people first with me said that they wanted to become professional card counters and play blackjack for a living.

I honestly think that they could do that with all the information that we learned in this course me. On the other hand, I just thought that I could play blackjack on the side and count cards and make a little bit extra money, but after realizing how much time and effort I would have to put into it to do it correctly, I’m just not sure it Was worth it for me for those who are interested make sure you stay tuned for an interview between my dad, Steve, maury and Colin Jones about some goals colin has for his students in the course at more information for anyone interested in taking it Colin, you and Ben have been involved in blackjack for a while. Now, can you explain that how this all started yeah on we, I think I was right at a college, twenty years old in bed and read some book about how to make a hundred thousand dollars a year gambling at a three-page section on card counting, and I Thats and doable, he told me about it, we started we buy stanford won works arrest. We start small, a couple thousand back to grit into at one point where tea, with million, are bankrolling and played every every level between and how many people were on your team.

You obviously you what you were successful. Did you have a lot of people under Kim yeah? I would say probably forty or fifty people cycle through, but it was really kind of work or about I five to 10 people that their kinda make much money and we’re on. You know for most the time I’m well today we’re here in Las Vegas wan na hear black jacket, blue captives and my son matt is taking your your boot camp to learn to be a better blackjack player. Yeah can can explain, what’s involved in and absolutely so. We do this about three times a year and we take about 10 people a, and you know we want people that have already been through our training online got as far as they can on their own, but we want to help people get you know as to To the next level, whatever that means and what things we learned, we were training.

Is you don’t know you don’t? So we thought we were good at blackjack anyway, we actually were that was involved with another marketing team on and they Kenneth knows. The back is, you know today this kid’s pretty good by that they, you know said he would you be able to do XOM some trips with us, and so he had to go through triggers chain process. He failed their initial test outs in. He thought he was good, but it wasn’t as good as it could be. That’S the same experience I had and so years of people that it’s hard to train yourself to something you know it may be hard to be come out grated instrument without some instruction urs someone say you do these things wrong here.

So up to camp is our opportunity to do that, and you know we’ve had it quite a number people come through that are now playing professionally or or as a hobby or just for fun. Now is the boot camp director that the novice player or sit directly to a more advanced by we’re much more excited about someone once said: do this to make money it’ll, there’s always a big scare people that show up I and that the information is valuable, whether Or not this or professional by that you know we’re most excited I’ll pick, people actually P and what what would you say is the the biggest problem up this students that you have to to come to your your classes? There’S one thing that you find you you focus on the most that they’re lacking in yeah. I’M there’s a couple things. One is how to think about card counting up in a lot of people. There there’s a very different way that we think that a gambler thinks and helping people think differently about the game.

Think differently about how they approach the game. That’S the first hurdle as advanced play it. He is all you know, and it’s not a you know.

If of so it it differently, any you got ta get out, see that seeing United life fires, he all are K, it’s more like a and Jeff. So for most people. Yes, here, usually whole your head out holiday and Jesse fired. The second is just that the actual skills and it takes people a lot more time in Pakistan. They expect and people think they’re pretty good at that. You know they’re really, not all that good and that you know it’s not as hard as becoming at doctor or a lawyer computer programmer.

But it’s not something that you can just practice for a couple hours. They are at the ready to go pee. The casino. Are you actually really up to have to masters skills, so I think the boot camp really help people realize okay, I put some work in, but I still have this. You know this far to go with you.

Would you say that all of the students second day take your class are going to go on to be successful card? Counter that I by then I could? Maybe you can explain. Yeah problems are involved that they don’t do that yeah. Well, a one thing to talk about is why people are getting into it and a lot of people, I’m they like playing blackjack and they wan na you know play it better. I would say that person will, you know, maybe the loose last money at the casino that make they make it with a break even but actually being without a successful at it.

A you know yet takes takes a unique person. That’S really what you put in the amount of time: training it takes. Provoke people wan na, learn more about your your blackjack boot camp as well as your other programs. Are you have for people to become better blackjack players? Where would they do that?

You could put all that stuff on our website and you really have a growing community car carriers every every step. We have Unohana for me plenty of professionals as well as people they’re learning. That’S that’s free, find out everything we have that weekly newsletter for free that people can get on the email list and we share.

You know stories, it casino news. It recent back hurt and development all that stuff, alright column, Colin Jones, thanks very much for spending time with us. Yet. Thank you. Don’T forget that you can see more of our educational gaming videos on our YouTube channel just go to YouTube dot com, slash American casino guide;